SEO Blackhatters Target Ford Via Google

PandaLabs has identified over a million spam links used to target Google searchers looking for information about automotive parts from Ford and Nissan especially. Panda calls it “a major Blackhat SEO attack” designed to dupe searchers into downloading spyware or purchasing phony security software.

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EU Probes UK Over Internet Privacy

The European Commission said on Tuesday it is taking legal action against the United Kingdom for not adequately protecting the privacy of British Internet users. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said the action had to do with how Internet service providers used Phorm technology to send users targeted ads based on the sites they visited.

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CPC Declines on Big 3 Search Engines, ROI Strong

Average cost-per-click in the US declined last year on the big three search engines according to research from Efficient Frontier. Google's fell 14%, Yahoo's fell 16%, and Microsoft's fell 28% over a year's time (via CNET). Essentially the study indicates that less money was spent per search ad.

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Court Rules MySpace Posting Not Private

A California court has ruled that a high school principal who sent a copy of a MySpace journal posting to a local newspaper is not liable for invasion of privacy. University of California at Berkeley student Cynthia Moreno wrote a journal entry on her MySpace page complaining about her hometown of Coalinga, Calif. The post was titled "An Ode to Coalinga" and began with "the…

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Banner and Video Ad Spending On the Rise

comScore is sharing some research indicating that despite a recent study from the IAB and Price Waterhouse Coopers saying that display-related ad spending declined in Q4 2008, banner ad spending actually increased.

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